You already know that this world is about competition and standing out. To stand out you MUST push your boundaries. Sorry, no other way around--especially if you are in the game of web development / design.

You may be familiar with Seth Godin's best-seller “Purple Cow (Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable)”. If not, I highly recommend you read the 143-pager.

The basic concept behind it is how to differentiate yourself from the rest by being remarkable. If you see a black-and-white cow, there is nothing remarkable about it, BUT if you see a purple-and-white cow, THAT is different! I ask you: “How many purple cows have you seen?”

Freelancing is a great way to recognize yourself and become your own innovator. Yet, with the freedom and joy that come with being a free agent, also come challenges. Freelancing is all about connections, with your client first of all, and then with the globe via your client. Establishing good rapport with a client to ensure future business is a MUST if you have to deal with customers directly. Here are some principles to achieve this.

You've spent countless hours making your website into the best marketing tool it can be. A good website will engage, entertain, and entice your readers to covert. Just make sure you aren't making these common web design mistakes that will totally undermine your efforts and cost you money.

1. Not communicating your intention FAST

You have about 4 seconds to grab your readers' attention – so make those seconds count. These days, people are constantly bombarded with information overload. Your readers will move on pronto unless something makes them want to stay. Don't prattle on and on about your company's goals or embracing innovation in your industry. Tell your reader exactly what you have to offer them and why they want it. Don't leave readers confused about your objective with weak statements that don't really mean anything. Nail it on the head from the get-go with strong, active language. Give your readers a reason to stick around and learn more – and do it quickly.

Wylia, our newest Joomla template, is here with the sole purpose of wowing your customers with its full-width striking, focal image at the top of the page and a design that comes together and feels just right. The possibilities with Wylia are endless for any business and organization that wants to show-off a portfolio of products. Its sophisticated and cutting-edge visual design allows for any site to have a professional look from day one.

If you have set up a blog, intranet, or Internet website then no doubt you have had to contend with the question of which solution to use for your Content Management System (CMS) requirements. Your initial research may have resulted in your selecting WordPress (WP) as your CMS system of choice, however given the added benefits of Joomla, it is worth reassessing your initial decision and taking the additional effort to migrate to Joomla as the benefits of this platform are significant.

Common Benefits

Both WP and Joomla are free, open source CMS solutions that continually evolve to meet current market trends and ensure that any bugs or security compromises are quickly dealt with. Both solutions have active, supportive communities and are SEO friendly; and both solutions are easy to work with and have site-bridging options.

You can use your Blog to create a more successful website

Last week we published the article titled “Content is Certainly NOT King”, making the point that in today’s world the “king” would be the platform to put your content out there - - e.g. social networks, email campaigns, mobile marketing among others. So, unless you have a platform geared towards presenting your content for others to talk about, it will be very hard to have a competitive edge.

However, the old axiom: “Content is King” is still valid, and always will be. Why? Simply put, if your content is not worthy, followers won’t talk about it. You need to have BOTH, great content on your website AND a solid platform.

You know what’s great about being a freelance developer building Joomla websites? The convenience technology can provide, such as Joomla templates.

You know what’s NOT great about being a freelance developer building Joomla websites? Getting stiffed by a customer. In fact, freelancers everywhere are getting stiffed by their customers (just check out the World's Longest Invoice). You didn’t become a web developer to be in the business of collections. If only there was an equivalent to Joomla templates for getting paid! Although there is no official template, there are in fact specific steps you can take to secure your chances of receiving money when owed.

Here are 7 ways to help you get paid faster:

1) Be Picky

Incredible Updates, and Incredible Offers!

We're excited to announce that Admincredible's beta has undergone a major update to the component. This new update lays the foundation for many great new features to be added in the coming weeks, and we'd like to invite you to take advantage of a special opportunity to join The Hall of Heroes, our Founder's Club, and start taking advantage of our great new features! With this new update, we have made some major improvements to the code which will allow:

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A Valuable Conference

Join us for three days of information, discussion and new ideas. We have presentations, workshops and a lot of fun. This is not a one-way presenter to attendee conference. You will be involved in sessions and discussions, and have the opportunity to give your own presentation. Joomla!'s awesomeness lies in its great community, we are working all together towards a bright future of the CMS we all love.

Since 2005, Joomlashack has been a leading supplier of free and commercial Joomla templates, Joomla extensions, and Joomla Training. Joomlashack.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Joomla! Project or Open Source Matters. The Joomla! name and logo is used under a limited license granted by Open Source Matters the trademark holder in the United States and other countries.